Sealing-in apparatus for electric lamps and the like



Nov. 1, 1938. 2,135,290

SEALING-IN APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS AND THE LIKE W. W. LOEBE El AL Filed July 16, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wwum F OL n o nwa 0A :t V35 AC? E w mt W4 W l Nov. 1, 1938. w. w. LOEBE ET AL SEALING-IN APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS AND THE LIKE Filed July 16, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Inventors: Wa|ter-W.L.oebe,

Gustav Muller", Ku r-t Weinman n,

by W 6.

Thelr' Attorney.

Nov. 1, 1938 w. w. LOEBE Er AL 2,135,290

SEALING-IN APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS AND THE LIKE Filed July 16, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 im 'igi' Walter -oebe, ustav M l Kurt W man,

Their- Attorney.

Patented Nov. 1, 1938 2,135,290

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEALING-IN APPARATUS FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS AND THE LIKE Walter W. Loebe, Berlin-Waidmannslust, Gustav Miiller, Blankenfelde, and Kurt Weinmann, Berlin-Grunau, Germany, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 16, 1937, Serial No. 154,050 In Germany July 28, 1936 4 Claims. (Cl. 176-3) Our invention relates to sealing-in apparatus fore the adjacent portion of our apparatus at for electric lamps and the like and more parthe same time by movement of the turret l2 on ticularly to apparatus for removing the waste which they are mounted and both portions of our glass remaining on said apparatus after each apparatus are operated by common operating sealing-in cycle. In the course of its operation, means, only partially shown, through the seal- 5 the sealing-in apparatus fuses the neck portion ing-in machine, in order to be properly syn- .of a glass bulb to a glass stem which extends chronized therewith. In each instance the sealup into the interior of the bulb, and separates ing head II is provided with a removable sleeve from the bulb the excess neck portion extendl3 mounted on the sealing spindle I. which suplo ing beyond said stem. This excess neck portion ports the stem of the electric lamp or other is generally referred to as cullet and must be device being sealed-in. The sleeve 13 is provided removed from the sealing-in apparatus before with a flange l5 to receive the cullet III which the next operating cycle begins. has been severed from the remainder of the bulb.

Prior to our invention the cullet was removed The said sleeve I3 is located on the spindle It in either manually or by a device which ejected it the lower position shown in dotted lines when 15 after the spindle on the head of sealing-in mathe sealing head II is indexed into position bechine had been lowered to remove it from within fore the apparatus. The jaws l6 and H, which the cullet. In both cases, however, pieces of glass are open as shown in Fig. 2, close on the poroften remain fused to the spindle and if these tion of the said sleeve between the flanges I5 pieces are removed by shattering, they often and I8 and move upward to a position somewhat 20 enter other portions of the sealing-in apparatus. higher than shown in Fig. 1. The jaws l6 and The principal object of our invention, therefore, I! are fastened to the pins l9 and 20 respectively is to provide apparatus for removing the cullet which are pivoted in the beam or arm 2| and from the sealing-in apparatus in such a way that the plate 22 and are caused to move equal no splinters of glass enter the said apparatus. amounts by the intermeshing gear segments 23 25 According to our invention, the above object and 24 thereon. The said beam 2| carries at its is attained by providing a removable flanged opposite end a second pair of jaws l6 and I1 sleeve which is mounted on the sealing spindle just like the jaws l6 and I1. The jaws l6 and and receives the cullet as it is severed from the I! are closed on the sleeve 13 by a spring (not remainder of the bulb, the said flanged sleeve shown) when the roller 25 on the arm 26 extend- 30 with the cullet in place thereon being transing from jaw 16 is permitted to swing back to its ferred to a position over a refuse hopper and normal position by the arm 21 which is mountthen inverted so that the cullet falls into said ed on the shaft 28 extending from the supporthopper. In order to remove the cullet from ing frame 29 of our apparatus and which is 5 sealing spindle when it is fused thereto, apparaoperated by mechanism (not shown) operated tus is also provided for shattering and forcibly by the sealing-in machine in the usual way. cleaning it therefrom. Other features and ad- The vertical movement of the jaws l6 and I1 vantages of our device will be apparent from is produced by a similar movement of the beam the description which follows and from the draw-- 21 and the shaft 30 to which it is fastened which ings of one species thereof. is mounted in the housing 3| on the end of the 40 In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one tube 32 and which extends through said housing section of the apparatus of our invention; Fig. 2 3| and supports the other duplicate cullet reis a plan view of one half of the apparatus; Fig. moving apparatus (not shown) hereinbefore re- 3 is a plan view of a modified apparatus of our ferred to. The tube 32 is moved in the tube 33 invention; and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of said extending from the frame 29 by the conventional 45 modification and additional apparatus for 00- type of mechanism (not shown) coupled to the operation therewith. sealing-in machine.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, apparatus is pro- After being lifted from the spindle ll of the vided for simultaneously removing the cullet sealing head II, the sleeve I3 is swung to an I0 (indicated in dotted lines) from each of two inverted position over the hopper 34 by 180 5 adjacent heads ll of a sealing-in machine alrotation of the beam 2| and shaft 30 so that the though y e S aling head H and only the cullet [0 drops into said hopper. This moveportion of our apparatus for removing the cullet ment carries the jaws l6 and I1 into the posill therefrom s S ow n s. 1 and 2. Both tion shown by the jaws l6 and H which in sealing heads II are indexed into position betum swing to the position shown by said jaws 55 I6 and II. The said movement is brought about ment is produced by a corresponding movement of the housing 3| and carries the jaws I6 and I1 and spindle I4 into the hopper 34. At this time the arm 21 swings the arm 26' sideward, opening the jaws I6 and I1 and freeing the sleeve I3, and the sealing head II is immediately indexed out of position before our apparatus and another head is indexed into position. The parts of our apparatus associated with'jaws I6 and I1 are duplicates of those associated with jaws I6 and I1 and are numbered with primed numbers accordingly. There is another set of jaws similar to jaws I6-II and I6-I1' located on the opposite side of the housing 3| from said jaws IIi-II and I6'I| which operate simultaneously therewith to remove the cullet from the other of two sealing heads II located before the apparatus.

A modification of our apparatus is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 which differs from that described above in that the sleeves I3 on each of two sealing heads II indexed into position before the device by the turret I2 are removed by a separate pair of jaws, 3639 and 36'--39, which transfer said sleeves I3 to other apparatus which carries them into the hopper 34. In the modification, jaws 38 and 39 are attached to the pins 40 and respectively mounted in the bracket 42 and are closed on the sleeve I3 by longitudinal movement of the rod 43 in the tubular arm 44 supporting the bracket 42 which is engaged by the pin 45 extending from the lever 46 on pin 46. The lever 46 is provided with an arm 41 having a pin 45 extending therefrom which engages the arm 49 on pin 4| and causes jaw 39 to be operated with law 33. The laws 39' and 39' are correspondingly operated and in each case the lever 46 and arms 41 and 49 are protected by a cover plate 5| attached to the respective bracket 42 on the tubular arm 44. The jaws 38-39 and 36'-39' are brought into position before the sealing heads II by a swinging movement of the arm 44, and after gripping the sleeves I3 are raised to lift said sleeves I3 from the spindles I4. The upward movement occurs as the tubular post 52 which is connected to the arm 44 by the housing 53 is raised in the tubing 54 within the machine frame 55 and is followed by a swinging motion thereof carrying the sleeves I3 over pins 56 on the conveyor 51. These movements are caused by corresponding movements of the tubular post 52 which is actuated by means (not shown) of the usual type connected to the sealing-in machine. The sleeves I3 are now carried down on the pins 56 by movement of post 52, and the jaws 36-49 and 36'39 are opened. The longitudinal movement of the rod 43 is caused by movement of rod 59 within the post 52 which is transferred thereto through the slotted block 59 and the lever 60 pivoted in the housing 53. The jaws 3839 and 3339 are moved back from the conveyor 51 momentarily to give sufllcient clearance for it to index the sleeves I3 and carry the cullets out of position and to bring a succeeding pair of sleeves l3 from which the cullets have been removed into position.

The conveyor 51 is comprised of two side-byside endless chain belts 6| which pass over the sprockets 62 and 63 and which support at regular intervals the blocks 64 on which the pins 56 are mounted. When the conveyor 51 is indexed, the pawls 65 on the blocks 64 before the jaws 39--39 and 36'39, pass from the rollers 66 on the stationary bar 61 and engage the lower flanges I8 on the sleeves I3 to hold them securely in place on pins 56. The indexing motion of the conveyor 51 carries the sleeves I3 to a position over the hopper 34 and into operation relation to a pair of tools 66 (only one being shown) which are rotated so as tostrike the cullets I0 and break them from the sleeves I3. The shape of the tools 66 is such that all of the cullets I9, even that portion, if any, fused thereto, vis swept therefrom.

The cleaned sleeves I3 which are indexed into position before the jaws 38-3936'39' are transferred to the spindles I4 of the heads II of the sealing-in machine by the return upward, sideward and downward movement thereof and the said jaws 38-39 and 39'-39' move back away from the turret I2 while the next pair of heads are indexed into position. The use of the conveyor 51 in the modification of our apparatus permits the stem which is to be sealed into the bulb to be introduced into the sealingin machine with the cleaned sleeves I3.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a sealing-in machine comprising a turret having a plurality of heads thereon each having a spindle for supporting the stem of an electric lamp or similar article to be sealed in a glass bulb, of a removable sleeve on said spindle having a flange thereon for receiving and supporting the cullet severed from the neck of said bulb, and cullet removal apparatus located adjacent to the path of travel of said heads and comprising a pair of jaws, means for closing said jaws to grip a sleeve in one of said heads, and means for transferring said jaws to remove said sleeve with a cullet thereon away from said head 'and to invert said sleeve to cause the said cullet to drop therefrom.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a sealing-in machine comprising a turret having a plurality of heads thereon each having a spindle for supporting the stem of an electric lamp or similar article to be sealed in a glass bulb, of a removable sleeve on said spindle having a flange thereon for receiving and supporting the cullet severed from the neck of said bulb, and cullet removal apparatus located adjacent to the path of travel of said heads and comprising a plurality of pairs of jaws, means for closing one of said pairs of jaws to grip a sleeve in one of said heads, and means for transferring each of said pairs of jaws to remove the said sleeve with a cullet thereon away from said head and to invert said sleeve to cause the said cullet to drop therefrom and also to simultaneously cause another sleeve in one of the other of said pairs of jaws to be placed on the said spindle.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with asealing-in machine comprising a turret having a plurality of heads thereon each having a spindle for supporting the stem of an electric lamp or similar article to be sealed in a glass bulb, of a removable sleeve on said spindle having a flange thereon for receiving and supporting the cullet severed from the neck of said bulb, and cullet removal apparatus located adjacent to the path of travel of said heads and comprising a 'pair of jaws, a conveyor comprising an endless belt having pins extending therefrom, means for closing said pair of jaws to grip 'asleeve in one of said sealing heads, means for transferring said jaws to remove said sleeve with a cullet thereonfrom said head and place it on one of the said pins on said conveyor, means for opening said jaws to release said sleeve, means for indexing said conveyor to remove said sleeve away from said jaws, and means forblosing said jaws to grip a sleeve onanother of the pins on said conveyor and carry it to the said sealing head.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a sealing-in machine comprising a turret having a plurality of heads thereon each electric lamp or similar article to be sealed in a glass bulb, of a' removable sleeve on said spindle having a flange thereon for receiving and supporting the culletsevered from the neck of said bulb, and cullet removal apparatus located adjacent to the path of travel of said heads and comprising a beam. rotatably mounted at its middle and having a pair of jaws at either end, means for closing one of said pair of jaws to \grip a sleeve in one of said heads having a cullet thereon, the other pair of jaws being clamped on another sleeve in an inverted position, and means for raising said beam to remove said firstmentioned sleeve from said head and for rotating said beam about its middle half a revolution in a vertical plane and then. lowering said beam to place said second-mentioned sleeve in said head.

WALTER W. LOEBE.

GUSTAV MULLER.

KURT WEINMANN.

having a spindle for supporting the stem or an 1 

